Quotes from Macbeth (Wordsworth Classics)

“By the pricking of my thumbs,
Something wicked this way comes.”
― William Shakespeare, quote from Macbeth (Wordsworth Classics)

“To-morrow, and to-morrow, and to-morrow,
Creeps in this petty pace from day to day,
To the last syllable of recorded time;
And all our yesterdays have lighted fools
The way to dusty death. Out, out, brief candle!
Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player,
That struts and frets his hour upon the stage,
And then is heard no more. It is a tale
Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,
Signifying nothing.”
― William Shakespeare, quote from Macbeth (Wordsworth Classics)

“Stars, hide your fires; Let not light see my black and deep desires.”
― William Shakespeare, quote from Macbeth (Wordsworth Classics)

“Double, double, toil and trouble;
Fire burn, and cauldron bubble!”
― William Shakespeare, quote from Macbeth (Wordsworth Classics)

“Give sorrow words; the grief that does not speak knits up the o-er wrought heart and bids it break.”
― William Shakespeare, quote from Macbeth (Wordsworth Classics)

“Life ... is a tale
Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,
Signifying nothing.”
― William Shakespeare, quote from Macbeth (Wordsworth Classics)

“Look like the innocent flower,
But be the serpent under it.”
― William Shakespeare, quote from Macbeth (Wordsworth Classics)

“...Who could refrain,
That had a heart to love, and in that heart
Courage to make love known?”
― William Shakespeare, quote from Macbeth (Wordsworth Classics)

“Out, out, brief candle! Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player that struts and frets his hour upon the stage and is heard no more. It is a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing.”
― William Shakespeare, quote from Macbeth (Wordsworth Classics)

“False face must hide what the false heart doth know.”
― William Shakespeare, quote from Macbeth (Wordsworth Classics)

“I dare do all that may become a man;
Who dares do more, is none”
― William Shakespeare, quote from Macbeth (Wordsworth Classics)

“Fair is foul, and foul is fair, hover through fog and filthy air.”
― William Shakespeare, quote from Macbeth (Wordsworth Classics)

“Where shall we three meet again in thunder, lightning, or in rain? When the hurlyburly 's done, when the battle 's lost and won”
― William Shakespeare, quote from Macbeth (Wordsworth Classics)

“Come what come may, time and the hour run through the roughest day.”
― William Shakespeare, quote from Macbeth (Wordsworth Classics)

“Things without all remedy should be without regard: what's done is done.”
― William Shakespeare, quote from Macbeth (Wordsworth Classics)

“Come, you spirits
That tend on mortal thoughts! Unsex me here,
And fill me from the crown to the toe top full
Of direst cruelty; make thick my blood,
Stop up the access and passage to remorse,
That no compunctious visitings of nature
Shake my fell purpose, nor keep peace between
The effect and it! Come to my woman’s breasts,
And take my milk for gall, you murdering ministers,
Wherever in your sightless substances
You wait on nature’s mischief! Come, thick night,
And pall thee in the dunnest smoke of hell,
That my keen knife see not the wound it makes,
Nor Heaven peep through the blanket of the dark,
To cry "Hold, hold!”
― William Shakespeare, quote from Macbeth (Wordsworth Classics)

“All causes shall give way: I am in blood
Stepp’d in so far that, should I wade no more,
Returning were as tedious as go o’er.”
― William Shakespeare, quote from Macbeth (Wordsworth Classics)

“O, full of scorpions is my mind!”
― William Shakespeare, quote from Macbeth (Wordsworth Classics)

“Confusion now hath made his masterpiece.”
― William Shakespeare, quote from Macbeth (Wordsworth Classics)

“Out, out brief candle, life is but a walking shadow...a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing.”
― William Shakespeare, quote from Macbeth (Wordsworth Classics)

“it provokes the desire, but it takes away the performance”
― William Shakespeare, quote from Macbeth (Wordsworth Classics)

“Out, damned spot! out, I say!”
― William Shakespeare, quote from Macbeth (Wordsworth Classics)

“My hands are of your color, but I shame to wear a heart so white.”
― William Shakespeare, quote from Macbeth (Wordsworth Classics)

“Macbeth: How does your patient, doctor?

Doctor: Not so sick, my lord, as she is troubled with thick-coming fancies that keep her from rest.

Macbeth: Cure her of that! Canst thou not minister to a mind diseased, pluck from the memory a rooted sorrow, raze out the written troubles of the brain, and with some sweet oblivious antidote cleanse the stuffed bosom of that perilous stuff which weighs upon her heart.

Doctor: Therein the patient must minister to himself.”
― William Shakespeare, quote from Macbeth (Wordsworth Classics)

“So fair and foul a day I have not seen.”
― William Shakespeare, quote from Macbeth (Wordsworth Classics)

“The love that follows us sometime is our trouble, which still we thank as love.”
― William Shakespeare, quote from Macbeth (Wordsworth Classics)

“I have no spur
To prick the sides of my intent, but only
Vaulting ambition, which o'erleaps itself
And falls on the other.”
― William Shakespeare, quote from Macbeth (Wordsworth Classics)

“Angels are bright still, though the brightest fell.
Though all things foul would wear the brows of grace,
Yet Grace must still look so.”
― William Shakespeare, quote from Macbeth (Wordsworth Classics)

Video

About the author

Popular quotes

“Lisa smiled. 'You know how sometimes, you catch the faintest hint of movement in the corner of your eye, then you blink and it's gone? That's them.”
― Jennifer McMahon, quote from Don't Breathe a Word

“…secondhand bookstores have pilgrims. The words out of print are a call to arms for those who seek a Holy Grail made of paper and ink.”
― Kathleen Tessaro, quote from Elegance

“Vorher glaubte ich, die Dinge hätten eine Bestimmung, einen verborgenen Sinn. Vorher glaubte ich, dieser Sinn sei der Gestaltung der Welt vorausgegangen. Aber der Gedanke, es gebe schlechte und gute Gründe, ist eine Illusion,[...], denn ich weiß jetzt, dass das Leben nur eine Folge von Ruhe- und Ungleichgewichtszuständen ist, deren Anordnung keiner Notwendigkeit unterliegt.”
― Delphine de Vigan, quote from No and Me

“Докато си мислех така, появиха се миризмите и зловонията. Всичките. Гонеха се, отстъпваха си място, бягаха и се връщаха: миризмата на тераса с гълъби , и зловонието на белина, което опознах що за зловоние е, след като се ожених. И миризмата на кръв, която беше като предизвестие за миризмата на смъртта. И миризмата на сяра от ракетите и фишеците – тогава на площад „Диамант“, и миризмата на хартия от хартиените цветя, и миризмата на суха зеленина, която се ронеше по земята и образуваше килим от дребни листенца, които бяха зеленината, избягала от клонката. И силната миризма на морето. Погладих очите си с ръка. Питах се защо зловонията се наричат зловония, а миризмите – миризми и защо да не може да се казва зловония на миризмите и миризми на зловонията, и тогава се появи миризмата на Антони, когато беше бъден и после миризмата на Антони, когато спеше. – бях казал на Кимет, че може би дървоядите вместо да работят отвън навътре, работят отвътре навън и през кръглите дупчици си показват главите и се замислят за белите, които вършат. – И миризмата на децата, когато бяха малки – на мляко и на лиги, на прясно мляко и на вкиснато мляко. – Госпожа Енрикета ми беше казала, че имаме няколко живота, преплетени един в друг, но смърт или женитба, понякога, не винаги, ги разделя и истинският живот, освободен от всякакви връзки с онези няколко лоши живота, с които е обвързан, може да живее, както би трябвало да живее винаги, ако онези няколко лоши живота го бяха оставили на мира. Казваше още, че те се карат и ни измъчват, а ние нищо не знаем, как то не знаем нито за работата на сърцето, нито за голямото вълнение на червата… И миризмата на чаршафите, по б рали моето тяло и тялото на Антони, онази миризма на уморен чаршаф, който всмуква миризмата на човека. И миризмата на косите върху възглавницата, и миризмата на всички тези боклучета, които краката оставят в края на леглото, и миризмата на носените дрехи, оставени през нощта на някой стол… И миризмата на зърното, на картофите и на бутилката със сода каустик… Дръжката на ножа беше дървена, закована с три пирончета със сплескани глави, за да не може никога повече да се откачи от острието.”
― Mercè Rodoreda, quote from The Time of the Doves

“It was as if Simon had become my nightlight; even when he wasn't with me, he was illuminating the world so that I no longer feared it.”
― Tricia Rayburn, quote from Siren

Interesting books

About BookQuoters

BookQuoters is a community of passionate readers who enjoy sharing the most meaningful, memorable and interesting quotes from great books. As the world communicates more and more via texts, memes and sound bytes, short but profound quotes from books have become more relevant and important. For some of us a quote becomes a mantra, a goal or a philosophy by which we live. For all of us, quotes are a great way to remember a book and to carry with us the author’s best ideas.

We thoughtfully gather quotes from our favorite books, both classic and current, and choose the ones that are most thought-provoking. Each quote represents a book that is interesting, well written and has potential to enhance the reader’s life. We also accept submissions from our visitors and will select the quotes we feel are most appealing to the BookQuoters community.

Founded in 2023, BookQuoters has quickly become a large and vibrant community of people who share an affinity for books. Books are seen by some as a throwback to a previous world; conversely, gleaning the main ideas of a book via a quote or a quick summary is typical of the Information Age but is a habit disdained by some diehard readers. We feel that we have the best of both worlds at BookQuoters; we read books cover-to-cover but offer you some of the highlights. We hope you’ll join us.